MetaFilter posts tagged with cellphones and technology

The Economist: The World in 2010

goodnewsfortheinsane — Sat, 14 Nov 2009 17:09:43 -0800

In 2010, Obama will have a miserable year, NATO may lose in Afghanistan, the UK gets a regime change, China needs to chill, India's factories will overtake its farms, Europe risks becoming an irrelevant museum, the stimulus will need an exit strategy, the G20 will see a challenge from the "G2", African football will unite Korea, conflict over natural resources will grow, Sarkozy will be unloved and unrivalled, the kids will come together to solve the world's problems (because their elders are unable), technology will grow ever more ubiquitous, we'll all charge our phones via USB, MBAs will be uncool, the Space Shuttle will be put to rest, and Somalia will be the worst country in the world. And so the Tens begin.

The Economist: The World in 2010. Previously: 2009, 2008, 2007. How did we do last time around? Guest contributions: President of the European Commission José Manuel Barroso lines up Europe's priorities President of Russia Dmitry Medvedev argues for dialogue and cooperation President of the Maldives Mohamed Nasheed wants his island nation to remain above water President of Indonesia Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono would like for Islam and the West to live in harmony President of South Africa Jacob Zuma says Africa should rise to the occasion Director-General of the World Health Organisation Margaret Chan predicts the development of the flu pandemic Managing director of the International Monetary Fund Dominique Strauss-Kahn explains how to prevent another crisis CEO of Yahoo! Carol Bartz believes business leaders should tap into the information flood Chairman of HSBC Stephen Green argues that the financial sector should welcome emerging economies CEO of Fiat Group and Chrysler Group Sergio Marchionne thinks greener cars require bolder action CEO/CTO of SpaceX Elon Musk says the private sector should handle space travel

The Present and Future of Mobile Phones

filthy light thief — Thu, 03 Sep 2009 14:35:50 -0800

Jan Chipchase is employeed by Nokia in the "corporate anthropology" field, but he considers it "design research," as he's not an anthropologist by training. His work covers researching how people modify their phones in China, India, Ghana, and elsewhere, adding features or extending battery life. He also tracks how cellphones are associated with personal identity and how they are playing roles far from urban and suburban centers. In some locations, cell phone numbers are written above doorways for identification, when there is no official map or organization for streets. He also blogs about his experiences, and his most recent post, he covers the rise of "Super Fakes." The term "super fake" is often applied to designer goods and can refer to counterfeit money. But in terms of fashion products, imitation goods are more than an attempt to dupe the unknowing end-user to maximize profit. Chipchase's question, "What happens when a large % of your target market wants your brand cachet but is happy with a decent-enough quality fake?" is about branded technology, but the question can also be applied to knock-off purses. Knock-off electronics have their own following, with some websites devoted to such items. Such sites can do more than detail the successes and feature sets of imitation products, they may also add background details to news stories (the original story didn't detail that MediaTek is only now shifting to legit production, starting in production of knock-offs). Shanzhai, previously.

Mobile-phone radiation damages lab DNA

spock — Tue, 21 Dec 2004 12:50:57 -0800

Mobile-phone radiation damages lab DNA . Sure to be controversial and certainly not the last word, but it raises some interesting points of conversation. Government surveillance becomes much easier with wireless communications and there is a huge corporate financial investment in the infrastructure. Could we really trust the government(s) to tell us if this particular technology was harmful? And at what point would you give serious consideration to giving up a technology that had proved to be such an intrinsic part of your life? Are you addicted beyond the point of no return?
Other media carrying the story via Google News.

Vibrating cellphones of love!

theplayethic — Tue, 21 Jan 2003 03:27:31 -0800

Vibrating cellphones of love! "Within a year you could be able to "touch" someone over your mobile phone", says the BBC. Some people have been waiting for this for quite a while - and dreaming up VERY specific applications.

tranquileye — Tue, 11 Sep 2001 05:05:00 -0800

"They just shrug... They don't think that someone is jamming their conversations." A friend of mine bought a cell-phone jammer two months ago and has been happily creating "sanity zones" within which cell phones are rendered inoperable. People have a right to communicate, he conceded. But "I have the right not to participate in that communication process - I really don't need to hear people yelling into a cell phone if I'm standing half a block away."

tranquileye — Fri, 27 Jul 2001 10:47:53 -0800

As much as I enjoyed the Blair Witch Project, one had to wonder why those silly kids didn't have a single mobile phone among them. A number of standard plot devices are becoming obsolete as a result of current technologies, while filmmakers are finding new ways to incorporate technology into their stories.

jennak — Mon, 02 Jul 2001 09:30:31 -0800

9 out of 10 Brit Kids Have Cell Phones... and 8 out of 10 have tumors the size of oranges above their right ear. Beer with school lunches and now cell phones for kids?

What happened to tying up the phone line for hours and hours til mom turns red?

physics — Tue, 27 Feb 2001 18:49:24 -0800

The next must have tech gadget is on its way this fall. Sure it probably weighs 50 pounds, but it's just too damn sweet not to get.

tamim — Sat, 30 Sep 2000 14:46:16 -0800

The Tecno AO electromagnetic bioprotectionoscillator is an almond shaped disk that is 1.2 inches long and attaches to the casing of your cell phone or pager. It emits a magnetic oscillation that may counter the potentially harmful effects of the radiation produced by cell phones.
(quoted from the FAQ)

lagado — Thu, 03 Aug 2000 19:48:49 -0800

Dack provides a pointer to the growing backlash in the US against cell phone use. While "conspicuous" phone use can certainly at times be annoying, the general level of distaste and phone rage seems to be a phenomenon confined to the United States.
People in Europe, Australia and Asia, took to mobile technology like the proverbial ducks to water and haven't developed anywhere near the same irritation levels.
Is this just a difficult transition for a country slow to adopt a technology or says something deeper about the American psyche? Afterall, we are talking about the country that invented Dick Tracy and Maxwell Smart.

mathowie — Tue, 28 Dec 1999 23:49:21 -0800

Want to learn WAP (wireless application protocol) without buying a $300 PCS phone and paying for airtime? WinWAP is a free WAP-capable browser that runs on win9x/NT and allows you to see pages built for cell phones.